Japan Finance Minister: We Could Suffer Europe's Fate

Jan 26, 2012

Earlier this month, the Japanese minister of finance warned that the country was vulnerable to the same kind of debt crisis that has encompassed the euro zone, noting that Japan was carrying a significantly high

Earlier this month, the Japanese minister of finance warned that the country was vulnerable to the same kind of debt crisis that has encompassed the euro zone, noting that Japan was carrying a significantly high amount of debt itself.

The official, Jun Azumi, called on government leaders to pay attention to the issue and make it a priority during an address at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, The Wall Street Journal reports.

"We cannot avert our eyes from the great problem of our outstanding national debt," which is currently double Japan's GDP, Azumi said, as quoted by the newspaper.

The economic outlook looked even more bleak on Wednesday, when Bloomberg reported that the country's finance ministry had issued its quarterly report, noting that the regional economies were "in a severe state, though they are improving at a moderate pace."

The yen had also climbed in value, which hurt economic growth and made the issue more severe, the news outlet noted. Last year, Japan experienced the first annual trade deficit it had seen in more than three decades.